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Saturday, February 28, 2009

Lady Bruins vs. Dudley — again

Beddingfield will meet Greensboro Dudley in the N.C. High School Athletic Association girls basketball 3-A East Regional semifinal on Thursday evening at 8:30 p.m. in Greenville Rose's "Rose Garden."

This will be the fourth meeting in the last five regionals between the Lady Bruins and Lady Trojans, who won in 2005 and 2007. Beddingfield defeated Dudley in the regional final on the way to the 2006 state title.

South Central and Rockingham County play the opener Thursday.

All the regional pairings are on the NCHSAA Web site.

Sunday, February 22, 2009

The brackets are up

The N.C. High School Athletic Association posted the brackets for its boys and girls basketball playoffs today.

Here's a look at who, where and when the teams in The Wilson Daily Times readership will play in the first and, possibly, second round:

3-A BOYS

Sectional No. 1

Hunt (12-12) at South Central (21-3)
Beddingfield (12-15) at Jacksonville (21-4)

Fike (15-6) at Southern Wayne (18-7)
West Carteret (9-14) at Bertie (19-4)

Sectional No. 4
SouthWest Edgecombe (15-6) at Overhills (19-7)
South Johnston (8-16) at Northern Guilford (24-3)

3-A GIRLS

Sectional No. 1

Fike (15-8) at Hunt (17-7)
D.H. Conley (14-9) at Bertie (22-1)

Sectional No. 2
Washington (9-13) at Beddingfield (23-3)
West Carteret (15-10) at Hertford County (7-13)

Sectional No. 4
Southern Nash (9-15) at Overhills (22-5)
South Johnston (11-14) at Greensboro Dudley (24-3)

Northeast Guilford (11-14) at SouthWest Edgecombe (14-8)
Western Guilford (9-15) at Oxford Webb (19-2)



2-A GIRLS

Sectional No. 4

Greene Central (11-15) at Graham (223-1)
Reidsville (12-11) at Farmville Central (14-7)


1-A GIRLS
Lakewood (7-12) at North Johnston (18-7)
Topsail (11-16) at Sampson Union (22-2)

1-A BOYS
Wallace-Rose Hill (11-15) at North Johnston (18-7)
Princeton (11-15) at Jones County (17-14)

Saturday, February 21, 2009

NCHSAA basketball playoff pairings *UPDATED, 2:33 p.m.*

As of very early Saturday morning, here is what I know will be the pairings for next week's N.C. High School Athletic Association basketball playoffs (barring some last-minute bracket-shifting by the NCHSAA).

The boys start play Monday at 7 p.m. The second round will be Wednesday at 7 p.m. and the sectional finals will be Friday at 7 p.m.

The Fike boys, who lost their No. 2 seed from the 3-A NEW 6 Conference with Rocky Mount's tournament championship win, will be the NEW 6 No. 3 seed and visit Southern Wayne, No. 2 from the Eastern Carolina Conference. If the Golden Demons win, they will most likely have to go to Hertford County on Wednesday. (*UPDATE* Fike would probably play Bertie in the second round

The Beddingfield boys, No. 3 from the ECC, visit Jacksonville, No. 1 from the Mideastern Conference. A Bruins' win would likely send them to South Central — or at home against Hunt! — in the second round. Unless Hunt gets a wild-card bid, the Warriors' season is over. *UPDATE* Saturday, 2:27 p.m.
(Don Hines of NCPreps.com is projecting Hunt to get a wild-card invitation and will play at No. 1 Coastal Conference South Central on Monday evening. The NCHSAA still hasn't posted the brackets on its Web site.)

It appears that SouthWest Edgecombe, the NEW 6 No. 4 seed, will travel to Cape Fear Valley Conference champ Southern Lee in the first round. *UPDATE* The Cougars are probably going to Overhills and not Southern Lee.



The North Johnston boys, who lost the No. 1 seed from the 1-A Carolina Conference to Ayden-Grifton in the tournament final Friday night, seem to be getting a home game Monday against Wallace-Rose Hill, No. 3 from the Super Six Conference.

In the 3-A girls brackets, play begins Tuesday with the sectional semifinals on Thursday and the finals on Friday. All games are supposed to start at 7 p.m. unless there is a change mutually agreed upon.

No. 3 NEW 6 Fike visits Hunt, the No. 2 from the ECC on Tuesday with the winner probably going to Bertie for the second round. ECC champion Beddingfield will host a wild-card opponent on Tuesday but it's unclear who the Lady Bruins will host in the second round. Beddingfield could face NEW 6 champion Rocky Mount in the sectional final. The teams split a pair of regular-season meetings.

SouthWest Edgecombe, No. 2 from the NEW 6, will host the No. 4 seed from the Triad Conference and Southern Nash, the NEW 6 No. 4, will visit the second seed from the Cape Fear Valley Conference.

Greene Central, No. 4 from the 2-A Eastern Plains Conference, will likely visit Graham, the top seed from the Mid-State Conference.

North Johnston, the No. 1 seed from the Carolina Conference, gets a wild-card opponent at home.

Check wilsontimes.com on Monday for a complete listing of all playoff pairings and times.

Impact Baseball preseason polls are out

Rocky Mount, the N.C. High School Athletic Association defending 3-A state champion, is atop the preseason poll issued by ImpactBaseball.com.

The 2007 state champion, Charles B. Aycock, is No. 9 while the Golden Falcons' Eastern Carolina Conference rival Eastern Wayne is No. 5.

Final conference tournament glance

Here are the final results from all of the high school basketball conference tournaments in The Wilson Daily Times readership area:

3-A Eastern Carolina
Conference

BOYS
First round
Monday

5) Hunt 80, 4) Eastern Wayne 71
3) Beddingfield 81, 6) C.B. Aycock 55
Semifinals
Wednesday

1) Kinston 89, Hunt 46
Beddingfield 56, 2) Southern Wayne 50
Final
Friday

Kinston 72, Beddingfield 63

GIRLS
At higher boys seeds
First round
Monday

3) Southern Wayne 77, 6) C.B. Aycock 63 (at Beddingfield)
4) Eastern Wayne 53, 5) Kinston 40
Semifinals
Wednesday

1) Beddingfield 54, E. Wayne 38
2) Hunt 71, S. Wayne 55
Final
Friday

Beddingfield 54, Hunt 47

3-A NEW 6 Conference

AT SOUTHWEST EDGECOMBE
BOYS
First round
Monday

3) Rocky Mount 87, 6) Southern Nash 52
4) SW Edgecombe 64, 5) Northern Nash 62 OT
Semifinals
Wednesday

1) Nash Central 68, SW Edgecombe 59
Rocky Mount 75, 2) Fike 66
Final
Friday

Rocky Mount 87, Nash Central 76 OT
Tournament MVP: Tashawn Mabry, Rocky Mount

GIRLS
First round
Tuesday

3) Fike 52, 6) Northern Nash 35
5) Southern Nash 57, 4) Nash Central 43
Semifinals
Thursday

S. Nash 37 vs. 1) Rocky Mount 48
Fike 55 vs. 2) SW Edgecombe 41
Final
Friday

Rocky Mount 56, Fike 48
Tournament MVP: Dyonna Battle, Rocky Mount

2-A Eastern Plains
Conference

BOYS
First round
Monday

6) Greene Central 75, 3) Farmville Central 65
4) Tarboro 80, 5) North Pitt 78 OT
Semifinals
Wednesday

1) Goldsboro 63, Tarboro 59
2) North Lenoir 71, Greene Central 54
Final
Friday

North Lenoir 74, Goldsboro 63
GIRLS
At higher boys seeds
First round
Monday

3) Greene Central 46, 6) North Lenoir 41
4) North Pitt 53, 5) Tarboro 38
Semifinals
Wednesday

2) Farmville Central 56, Greene Central 46
1) Goldsboro 53, North Pitt 43
Final
Friday

Farmville Central 75, Goldsboro 64
* No. 3 seed game: North Pitt 50,Greene Central 28

1-A Carolina Conference

BOYS
First round
Tuesday

At Spring Creek High School,
Seven Springs
4) Princeton 57, 4) Rosewood 44
3) Spring Creek 62, 6) North Duplin 46
Semifinals
At Ayden-Grifton High School
Wednesday

1) North Johnston 69, Princeton 34
Thursday
2) Ayden-Grifton 57, Spring Creek 47
Final
At Ayden-Grifton
Friday

Ayden-Grifton 55, North Johnston 52
GIRLS
First round
Monday

At Princeton High School
5) Spring Creek 57, 4) Rosewood 45
3) Princeton 41, 6) North Duplin 29
Semifinals
At Ayden-Grifton
Wednesday

1) North Johnston 59, Spring Creek 51
Thursday
2) Ayden-Grifton, 63, Princeton 46
Final
At Ayden-Grifton
Friday

Ayden-Grifton 52, North Johnston 49

Thursday, February 19, 2009

The Brittany V schedule is out

With girls soccer practice beginning at area high schools this week, it's time to look ahead to the fifth rendition of The Brittany Willis Memorial Soccer Scholarship Showcase, ie, The Brittany.

The event will be Friday, March 27, and Saturday, March 28, at its home, Gillette Athletic Complex and the field is packed, as usual, with some very high quality teams. I haven't counted the teams but there appears to be 41 matches scheduled, which would surpass the previous high of 35 at The Brittany for the Boys IV last August.

Here is the schedule but please visit The Brittany Web site to learn all you need to know about this wonderful event that memorializes a special young lady who was taken away all too soon.

Friday, March 27
5:15 p.m. games

Field No. 1: Jacksonville vs. Watauga County;
Field No. 2: Swansboro vs. St. Mary's
Field No. 3: West Carteret vs. Raleigh Wakefield
Field No. 4: Beddingfield vs. Kill Devil Hills First Flight
Field No. 5: Charlotte Latin vs. Fayetteville Academy
Field No. 6: South Brunswick vs. Calvary Baptist

7:30 p.m. games

No. 1: Wilmington Laney vs. Raleigh Millbrook
No. 2: Raleigh Broughton vs. East Chapel Hill
No. 3: Wilmington New Hanover vs. Cary Panther Creek
No. 4: Fike vs. Asheville T.C. Roberson
No. 5: Rocky Mount Faith Christian vs. Cape Fear Academy
No. 6: Ravenscroft vs. Matthews Covenant Day

Saturday, March 28
8:30 a.m. games

No. 1: Nash Central vs. Lejeune
No. 2: Clinton vs. Cary Academy
No. 3: North Johnston vs. Southern Nash
No. 4: Wilson Christian vs. Kerr-Vance
No. 5: Wayne Christian vs. Rocky Mount Academy
No. 6: Wayne Country Day vs. Halifax Academy

10:15 a.m. games
No. 1: Jacksonville Northside vs. Pasquotank
No. 2: East Wake vs. Greenville Rose
No. 3: Edenton Holmes vs. Southwest Onslow
No. 4: Whiteville vs. East Duplin
No. 5: D.H. Conley vs. Richlands
No. 6: Hope Mills South View vs. West Johnston

1 p.m. games
No. 1: Calvary Baptist vs. Currituck
No. 2: T.C. Roberson vs. Jacksonville
No. 3: Fike vs. Swansboro
No. 4: St. Mary's vs. Charlotte Latin
No. 5: Watauga vs. Laney
No. 6: First Flight vs. Roanoke Rapids

3:15 p.m. games
No. 1: Covenant Day vs. C.B. Aycock
No. 2: Greensboro Grimsley vs. New Hanover
No. 3: Franklinton vs. South Brunswick
No. 4: Hunt vs. Fayetteville Cape Fear
No. 5: Smithfield-Selma vs. Fayetteville Jack Britt
No. 6: Northern Nash vs. Elizabeth City Northeastern

5:30 p.m. games
No. 1: Rocky Mount vs. West Brunswick
No. 2: Cardinal Gibbons vs. Forbush
No. 3: Clayton vs. Burlington Williams
No. 4: Greenfield vs. Community Christian
No. 5: Holly Ridge Dixon vs. Rosewood

McD's All-Americans are out. Where's Wall?

The 2009 McDonald's High School Boys Basketball All-American teams were announced Wednesday and there were two players from North Carolina: Mason Plumlee, a 6-foot-11 post player from Arden Christ School, near Asheville, and Raleigh Ravenscroft's 6-10 center Ryan Kelly.

The one thing Plumlee and Kelly have in common, besides having signed with Duke University, is they have both played against Greenfield this season and won.

Omitted from the 24 players on the East and West rosters is another player who has beaten Greenfield (and who could sign with Duke), Raleigh Word of God point guard John Wall. Apparently Wall is not eligible to be in the Mickey D's starfest because he reclassified, ie, repeated a grade, when he came to Word of God from Raleigh Broughton.

Wall will participate in the Jordan Brand Classic in New York's Madison Square Garden on April 18.

Monday, February 16, 2009

Big Jean's on a roll!

Congratulations to East Carolina freshman center Jean Best who was named Conference USA Women's Basketball Rookie of the Week today. It's the second time the 2008 Beddingfield High School graduate has earned that distinction in the past four weeks.

Against Central Florida last week, Best posted her first career double-double with 19 points and a career-high 13 rebounds and four blocked shots, also a career-best. She leads C-USA in field-goal percentage (.606) and is second in blocks (33), an ECU team high.

For my money, Big Jean should have the inside track on C-USA Rookie of the Year.

Monday, February 9, 2009

New football coaches at rival schools

Here are a couple of recent high school football coaching moves of note for teams in conferences in The Wilson Daily Times readership area.

Last week, Charles Alston of NorthCarolinaiHigh.com reported for The Nashville Graphic that Northern Nash has hired Mickey Crouch to replace Chad Smith, who resigned after two seasons. Crouch had previously been head coach at Eden Morehead High.

Rudy Coggins of The Goldsboro News Argus reported today that Eastern Wayne has hired Bubba Williams, the offensive coordinator at New Bern, to replace Jeff Price.

Northern Nash is currently in the 3-A NEW 6 Conference which will become the 3-A Big East Conference next season as Hunt joins and SouthWest Edgecombe departs. Fike, Southern Nash, Nash Central and Rocky Mount are the other members.

Eastern Wayne will remain in the 3-A Eastern Carolina Conference along with Charles B. Aycock and Southern Wayne while new members North Lenoir, Triton and South Johnston.

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Duke, ECU, State announce football signing classes

A big class for the Blue Devils and head coach David Cutcliffe:

Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Hometown High School
Lex Butler Back 5-10 175 Anderson, S.C. Westside
August Campbell Back 6-3 215 Nassau, Bahamas Christ (N.C.) School
Walt Canty Back 6-0 220 Roebuck, S.C. Dorman
Ross Cockrell Back 6-0 170 Waxhaw, N.C. Latin
John Coleman Line 6-5 280 Florence, S.C. West Florence
John Drew Line 6-1 315 Midland, Ga. Northside
Jack Farrell Line 6-2 225 Atlanta, Ga. Holy Innocents’
Joey Finison Line 6-4 280 Greensboro, N.C. Ragsdale
Justin Foxx Line 6-3 230 Charlotte, N.C. Victory Christian
Austin Gamble Back 6-1 230 Weston, Fla. Cypress Bay
Corey Gattis Back 5-11 170 Durham, N.C. Hillside
Tyree Glover Back 6-2 240 Crescent City, Fla. Crescent City
Zach Greene Back 5-10 170 Raleigh, N.C. Leesville Road
Kyle Griswould Back 5-10 180 Midland, Ga. Shaw
Ryan Hall Line 6-3 235 Orlando, Fla. Olympia
Dave Harding Line 6-4 290 Orlando, Fla. Boone
Garett Patterson Back 6-0 180 Chesterfield, Va. Monacan
Brandon Putnam Line 6-3 240 Peachtree City, Ga. Sandy Creek
Kevin Rojas Back 6-3 210 Raleigh, N.C. Wakefield
Sydney Sarmiento Line 6-4 265 Florence, S.C. West Florence
Sean Schroeder Quarterback 6-3 185 Laguna Niguel, Calif. Dana Hills
Desmond Scott Back 5-10 185 Durham, N.C. Hillside
Perry Simmons Line 6-5 260 Raleigh, N.C. Sanderson
Taylor Sowell Back 5-11 190 Spartanburg, S.C. Dorman
Conner Vernon Back 6-1 180 Miami, Fla. Gulliver Prep
Tyree Watkins Back 6-1 195 Camden, N.J. Camden
Anthony Young-Wiseman Back 6-1 200 Bethesda, Md. Walt Whitman


Here are the incoming Pirates:

Jimmy Booth DT 6-2 288 Fr. Greenville, N.C. (J.H. Rose)
Michael Brooks DT 6-3 280 Fr. Roxboro, N.C. (Bartlett Yancey)
Jordan Davis OL 6-3 290 Fr. Fort Walton Beach, Fla. (Choctawhatchee)
Michael Dobson RB/DB 6-0 185 Fr. Mount Airy, N.C. (Mount Airy)
Ty Holmes LB 6-1 213 Fr. Lexington, N.C. (Lexington)
Torrance Hunt WR 5-8 160 Fr. Durham, N.C. (Jordan)
Rio Johnson QB 6-2 185 Fr. Atlanta, Ga. (Sandy Creek)
Justin Jones TE 6-8 252 Fr. Conyers, Ga. (Heritage)
Lamar McLendon LB 6-0 200 Fr. Fayetteville, N.C. (Seventy-First)
Matt Milner DE 6-4 235 Fr. Raleigh, N.C. (Cardinal Gibbons)
Zico Pasut TE 6-3 245 Fr. Charlotte, N.C. (Ardrey Kell)
Marke Powell LB 6-3 198 Fr. Troy, N.C. (West Montgomery)
Mike Price WR 6-1 165 Fr. New Bern, N.C. (New Bern)
*Korey Reynolds TE 6-2 240 Jr. Hoover, Ala. (Northwest Mississippi CC)
Giavanni Ruffin RB 6-1 215 Jr. Virginia Beach, Va. (College of the Sequoias, Calif.)
Will Simmons OL 6-5 280 Fr. Ahoskie, N.C. (Hertford County)
DaMonte Terry RB 6-1 203 Fr. Laurinburg, N.C. (Scotland)
*Kyle Tudor LB 6-3 195 Fr. Augusta, Ga. (Lakeside)
Reese Wiggins WR 5-11 181 Fr. Durham, N.C. (Southern Durham)


The Wolfpackers-to-be:

Name Ht Wt Pos. Hometown Previous School
Morgan Alexander 5-11 180 ATH Cartersville, Ga. Cartersville HS
Brandan Bishop 6-2 200 SAF Boca Raton, Fla. Boca Raton HS
Jarvis Byrd 5-11 180 CB Pahokee, Fla. Pahokee HS
Darryl Cato-Bishop 6-4 250 DE Groton, Mass. Lawrence Academy
Tyson Chandler 6-6 340 OL North Plainfield, N.J. North Plainfield HS
Ryan Cheek 6-1 230 LB Lancaster, Ohio Lancaster HS
Duran Christophe 6-6 285 OL Woodstock, Ga. Woodstock HS
Sylvester Crawford 6-4 225 DE Charlotte, N.C. Northside Christian Academy
Rickey Dowdy 6-2 225 LB High Point, N.C. High Point Central HS
A.J. Ferguson 6-3 250 DL Southport, N.C. South Brunswick HS
Denzelle Good 6-6 325 OL Gaffney, S.C. Gaffney HS
Dean Haynes 5-11 178 CB Tunnel Hill, Ga. NW Whitfield County HS
Quintin Payton 6-4 190 WR Anderson, S.C. T.L. Hanna HS
Everett Proctor 6-2 200 QB Fayetteville, N.C. Jack Britt HS
Raynard Randolph 6-2 320 DT Brandywine, Md. Gwynn Park HS
Hans Rice 6-2 205 LB Eufaula, Ala. Eufaula HS
Deion Roberson 6-3 275 DT Tucker, Ga. Tucker HS
Brian Slay 6-3 290 DT Ashburn, Va. Stone Bridge HS
Rashard Smith 5-11 175 CB Dublin, Ga. Dublin HS
Anthony Talbert 6-4 230 TE Cincinnati, Ohio Winton Woods HS
Bryan Underwood 5-11 170 WR University Heights, Ohio Cleveland Heights HS
Chris Ward 6-1 175 P Fayetteville, Ga. Starrs Mill HS
Asa Watson 6-4 225 TE Rock Hill, S.C. Rock Hill HS
Camden Wentz 6-3 290 OL Marietta, Ga. Lassiter HS
The following players are already enrolled:
Donald Coleman 6-0 210 SAF Detroit, Mich. The Hun School (N.J.)
Sam Jones 6-7 295 OL Fuquay-Varina, N.C. Fuquay-VarinaHS/Hargrave Milt. Acad.
Nathan Mageo 6-3 285 DT Pago Pago, American Samoa Samoana HS/NM Miltary JUCO
James Washington, III 5-11 185 RB Orlando, Fla. Boone HS

Tuesday, February 3, 2009

Southern Nash shoots for the cure tonight

Southern Nash will sponsor a "Coaches vs. Cancer" night this evening in the varsity girls and boys basketball doubleheader against Rocky Mount. All proceeds will benefit American Cancer Society.

The Ladybirds and Firebirds will wear home jerseys that have been sponsored by families in honor of or memory of loved ones who have had cancer. Each jersey will bear the name of the person honored or memorialized.

"Shooting for the Cure" T-shirts will be worn by students, staff and parents who attend the games.

There will also be a 50/50 raffle with that money going to ACS as well.

Sounds like a great idea so please head over to Stanhope tonight and support them.